Man faces manslaughter charge after girlfriend's fatal jump from car

By The Associated Press

CONWAY — Steven T. Sanson, 26, was arrested Tuesday and later released from the Faulkner County jail on $5,000 bond. Sanson told police his girlfriend Cristie Ann Johnson, 25, jumped out the window of his car as he drove on a road north of Wooster the night of July 9.

Sanson said that he and his girlfriend had been arguing in the vehicle that night, and the argument became physical before she jumped. Scratches on Sanson's neck were consistent with the fight he described, police said.

Autopsy results indicated that the young woman's injuries were consistent with Sanson's statements. Maj. Andy Shock of the Faulkner County Sheriff's Office also said that "every shred of physical evidence at the scene would be very, very consistent with what he said."

However, Sanson kept driving after his girlfriend jumped out of the car, instead of stopping to help her. He called police from a relative's home and later attempted to help deputies and investigators find the location where she jumped, but did not lead them to the right area. Her body was found the next morning by a passer-by about a mile from where Shock said Sanson had led police.

Deputy Faulkner County prosecuting attorney Angie Byrd said the state's evidence does not immediately seem to contradict the chain of events Sanson described. It was his actions after the woman exited the vehicle that led to the manslaughter charges, she said.

"He continued past multiple houses and did not stop for help, then he stayed for some time frame at his aunt's house and then came back to completely the wrong place," Byrd told the Log Cabin Democrat newspaper of Conway. "At a minimum he was reckless and at most he assisted her in committing suicide. We're confident that the facts will establish that he acted recklessly in relation to what culminated in her death."